Publications Details

Development of modifications to the material point method for the simulation of thin membranes, compressible fluids, and their interactions

York II, A.R.

The material point method (MPM) is an evolution of the particle in cell method where Lagrangian particles or material points are used to discretize the volume of a material. The particles carry properties such as mass, velocity, stress, and strain and move through a Eulerian or spatial mesh. The momentum equation is solved on the Eulerian mesh. Modifications to the material point method are developed that allow the simulation of thin membranes, compressible fluids, and their dynamic interactions. A single layer of material points through the thickness is used to represent a membrane. The constitutive equation for the membrane is applied in the local coordinate system of each material point. Validation problems are presented and numerical convergence is demonstrated. Fluid simulation is achieved by implementing a constitutive equation for a compressible, viscous, Newtonian fluid and by solution of the energy equation. The fluid formulation is validated by simulating a traveling shock wave in a compressible fluid. Interactions of the fluid and membrane are handled naturally with the method. The fluid and membrane communicate through the Eulerian grid on which forces are calculated due to the fluid and membrane stress states. Validation problems include simulating a projectile impacting an inflated airbag. In some impact simulations with the MPM, bodies may tend to stick together when separating. Several algorithms are proposed and tested that allow bodies to separate from each other after impact. In addition, several methods are investigated to determine the local coordinate system of a membrane material point without relying upon connectivity data.